Reincarnated Swordmaster

Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village

Why is the Great Void Heavenly Venerable appearing here?!

I couldn't hold back my shock. As I stood there flustered, Gonggong glared at the Great Void Heavenly Venerable while raising the Metal Yao in his hand.

[Whoever you are, you're no mere Great Luo Immortal. Are you an ally of the Queen Mother of the West?]

The Great Void Heavenly Venerable responded with a sly chuckle.

"Less an ally of hers and more like an investor—or observer, shall we say."

[What? What do you mean by that?]

"It means you giants don't need to use that Seven Yao to attack me. I have no desire to suffer a scorching blow like your Metal Yao."

The Great Void Heavenly Venerable let out a light laugh, his tone laced with a subtle jab.

[......]

Gonggong fell silent, sensing something profoundly ominous emanating from the Great Void Heavenly Venerable. Normally, even if this were the incarnation of the Three Pure Ones and an avatar of the Eternal Treasure Heavenly Venerable, Gonggong wouldn't be one to cower. But now, he seemed cautious, instinctively recognizing the being as something utterly alien.

[Are you telling me to quietly withdraw from the Heavenly Realm?]

"That's right. That's all I ask, giant."

[And if I refuse?]

The Great Void Heavenly Venerable's expression turned peculiar.

"With your power, you could slaughter half the remaining immortals in the Heavenly Realm. But what would be the point?"

[The point...]

"Leaving the greatest malignant god unchecked while wasting your strength on trifles? I certainly wouldn't. Wouldn't it be wiser to leave the Heavenly Realm in peace and search for the remaining Seven Yao? Once you've gathered them all and unleashed their full power, even the malignant god couldn't stand against your giant race."

The Great Void Heavenly Venerable's words rang true and precise. Moreover, an uncanny aura resonated from his voice, lending it irresistible persuasiveness—like honeyed words that bewitched the listener.

Sensing the other's cunning wisdom, Gonggong let out a low groan before speaking.

[Just who the hell are you? I considered every possibility before being summoned to the Heavenly Realm, but you were beyond my expectations.]

"I am the Great Void Heavenly Venerable."

Gonggong scoffed at that.

[Heh heh heh! You're no mere Great Luo Immortal. Tell me your true nature beneath that shell.]

"No."

The Great Void Heavenly Venerable casually dismissed Gonggong's demand and stroked his chin.

"Well, this situation intrigues me, but I barely relish the thought of that malignant god rampaging across the Central Plains. That arrogant upstart has such overwhelming innate power that no one can rein him in. The plot's advancing far too quickly.....Of course, if you have no intention of doing so, there's nothing to be done."

Whirring

"Be on your way. I won't interfere further."

As the Great Void Heavenly Venerable finished speaking, a portal of light materialized amid the thick chaos of the void. It was unmistakably an exit from this space. Gonggong crossed his arms with evident displeasure.

[Think you're doing me a favor? Even without your door, I could open one with my own power.]

Bzzzt!

Gonggong intensified the radiance of the Metal Yao and raised his hand. Cracks spiderwebbed across the space, forming another exit. He could escape on his own power. The Great Void Heavenly Venerable replied with an enigmatic smile.

"How nice to be so strong, giant."

Shhh

With that, the Great Void Heavenly Venerable vanished from the chaotic space. Gonggong scanned the area briefly before exiting through the portal he'd created. From within Gonggong's inner self, I spoke up.

[Gonggong. That was the Great Void Heavenly Venerable, incarnation of the Three Pure Ones.]

[Ridiculous. With the original body destroyed, how could an incarnation persist?]

[......]

That puzzled me too. I'd assumed the Great Void Heavenly Venerable perished alongside the Three Pure Ones, yet here he was. He'd always seemed suspicious, but this was truly bizarre. As I fell silent, Gonggong continued.

[That one isn't of the Heavenly Realm. Even I can't fathom his true identity.]

[Could he be an avatar secretly hidden in the Heavenly Realm by the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors? Like the Queen Mother of the West...]

[If so, why didn't he aid her until she fell? The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors are bound by fate as a collective, whatever their quarrels. With that one's skill, he could have struck me from behind easily.]

[Hmm...]

[And that spell just now—even I've never seen its like in my endless years. To drag an opponent into the pure chaos of the cosmos... He's one to watch.]

Gonggong muttered to himself, then looked around.

[Hmm, looks like he made off with the Queen Mother of the West's corpse...]

Indeed. The Queen Mother of the West's lifeless body was gone, as if he'd thwarted Gonggong's attempt to absorb her power. Gonggong scowled in dissatisfaction before speaking.

[I need to annihilate those conspiring Pangu's incantation and then leave the Heavenly Realm.]

Whirring

The Metal Yao rose from Gonggong's hand, blazing with immense light as countless orbs of radiance floated around him. I instinctively knew it heralded a devastating attack. Realizing his target was the immortals scattered nearby, I hurriedly tried to stop him.

[W-Wait a moment! Stop this.]

[What?]

[They merely followed the Queen Mother of the West's orders. Slaughtering all these immortals would doom the Heavenly Realm—that's too harsh. Its collapse would have catastrophic repercussions.]

If the Heavenly Realm truly fell, the scales of causality would tip dramatically, potentially worsening the malignant god's tyranny. As I pleaded, Gonggong chuckled darkly.

[Keh ha ha! None of my concern!]

[What?!]

[Immortals are nothing but puppets the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors created to manage humanity. As their arch-nemesis and elder of the giants, I have no reason to spare them! Let alone for 'just following orders'? Why should I show mercy?]

[But the malignant god...]

[Baek Woong. If the malignant god were truly committed, do you think the Heavenly Realm could stop him? This is all just divine whims across endless eons.]

Gonggong seemed ready to massacre them on the spot—not for any grand reason, but simply because they irked him. To the giants, humans and immortals alike were mere insects.

'Ugh.'

I knew they included not just Great Luo Immortals but high-ranking Upper Immortals, mid-tier celestials, and earthly immortals. Even with the Heavenly Realm's vast numbers, losing 108 immortals at once would jeopardize its very survival. As his apostle hosting his descent, I was powerless to intervene.

'The Heavenly Realm is finished...'

Though Perfected Iron Pillar and Great Luo Immortals still barred Je-cheon Great Sage and the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, they alone couldn't sustain it. With the Four Elvis' positions vacant and the Queen Mother of the West dead, the administrative backbone gone, the 'dimension' itself would soon collapse.

But what could I do?

The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady and Je-cheon Great Sage had aided me to save the Heavenly Realm, yet here I was, dooming it. Escaping this would force me to fight them.

As despair clouded my vision, Gonggong sensed my turmoil and laughed heartily.

[No need to fret over those pests.]

[This is betrayal.]

[Heh heh! Worry not. Once my king revives, all will be resolved.]

This felt wrong.

As the Great Void Heavenly Venerable said, the Heavenly Realm wasn't the priority now. We'd challenged it to stop the Queen Mother of the West's world-devastating spell, but topping the hidden puppet master hadn't solved the root issue: the malignant god. Was it right to inflict irreparable damage on a potential ally against him?

I steeled myself and spoke firmly.

[Gonggong! Spare them. Otherwise, I refuse to cooperate further.]

[What? You fought those bastards tooth and nail moments ago, and now you want mercy?]

[I beg you.]

[...I don't have to listen to you, you know?]

His curt tone made me think it was over, but Gonggong grumbled.

[Fine. Have it your way. For a human, you're surprisingly useful.]

The Metal Yao's light gradually faded. Like Perfected Fire Dragon, Gonggong could draw the Seven Yao's unique techniques even in their unbound state. He kept them orbiting him as he spoke.

[I've no further interest in the Heavenly Realm. Now, to the seal holding my king.]

[Where is that?]

[Heh heh!]

Gonggong smirked wickedly, channeling the Seven Yao's power to teleport us instantly.

Pababat

We reappeared in a realm of endless darkness. Unlike the Great Void Heavenly Venerable's chaotic void, this felt closer to primordial night—crisper, more invigorating. Though heaven and earth were pitch black, the occasional lap of waves reflected gray moonlight.

Yet even the moon was ashen, casting the world in gloom. Gonggong crossed his arms, gazing at it.

[My king is imprisoned in that moon.]

[Where is this place? I heard the Flame Emperor was sealed in the south, but I've never seen anywhere like this.]

Gonggong answered my question.

[This is the Shadow Realm existing on the Southern Continent. Its laws oppose the material world entirely. It's a parallel realm crafted by Nüwa of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, inaccessible by ordinary means or spells.]

[Hmm.]

[Few can reach it—it's as difficult as finding Dark Heaven Village.]

That explained why I'd searched the Southern Continent in vain for the Flame Emperor Shennong's seal. Overlapping the physical world yet untouchable.

[That gray moon is also Nüwa's spell. Remove the fog shrouding it, and the king's imprisonment ends.]

Gonggong chuckled darkly.

[But it's weakened considerably now. I can break Nüwa's seal alone.]

[Really?]

[Kekehe! With that mighty incarnation Queen Mother of the West dead, even Nüwa must have lost much power. The shock of losing a direct avatar linked to her true body far surpasses any ordinary one.]

Gonggong declared confidently.

[Right now, with the Four Luminaries' unleashed power, I'll shatter Nüwa's barrier.]

Kikikik

Kikikik

Four Seven Yao floated around Gonggong: Fire Yao, Water Yao, Metal Yao, and Earth Yao. They circled in formation, occupying the four directions and forming a vast array. Gonggong drew on their power, forcing the seals open as before.

[Keh heh heh... ha ha ha ha.]

He burst into mad laughter. Watching him, unease gnawed at me.

'What? Something feels off...'

Wait.

Wasn't this the sin of 'hubris'?

Mangyang the Monk's prophecy flashed in my mind, muddling my thoughts.

'Things are going too smoothly.'

Frankly, I'd braced for death against the Queen Mother of the West, yet she'd fallen somehow, and we'd reached here. If Shennong's seal broke now, it couldn't get better—but anxiety lingered. No reason for it, yet my reincarnator's instinct screamed this was wrong.

I urgently called out.

[Gonggong! Wait. Something's suspicious.]

[What is?]

[I can't explain, but... breaking this seal now will bring disaster.]

[Keh heh heh, nonsense.]

Gonggong sneered.

[Just watch history unfold as the Giant King breaks free.]

Pababat

The Seven Yao seals were nearly undone. The incantations etched on them faded, and their tremendous divine power illuminated the dark realm.

But then—

The gray moon blazed brightly, and 'something' appeared before it. Spotting it, Gonggong's eyes widened.

[What...?]

It resembled the malignant Queen Mother of the West but softer, exuding an otherworldly beauty. Her starry black eyes gleamed like jewels.

Ooooo

All creation bowed to her. The earth, sky, and moon's magic paid homage. Her divine aura dwarfed even the Queen Mother of the West I'd faced in the Heavenly Realm.

Yes.

This being's power eclipsed the Sea God's severalfold. Even trapped in Gonggong's divinity, I felt it acutely—an overwhelming might no mortal could possess.

The moon's magic boiled over.

I grasped the situation without explanation.

That was Nüwa's true body.

The Earth Mother Goddess of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors had cast off her mask and manifested here!

Gonggong sensed something amiss but shouted with feigned nonchalance.

[Too late to show now! The Seven Yao seals are broken. Even your true body can't stop my king.]

Nüwa neither replied nor attacked, merely blocking the moon.

Pububung

[Kugh...?!]

Gonggong's body erupted, his right arm and left leg grievously wounded. The Four Luminaries' seals halted mid-release, incantations re-igniting to reseal them.

Stunned by this unforeseen turn, I reeled.

What the hell was happening?

Nüwa extended a hand toward us and murmured softly.

[You made a 'promise' with my incarnation, the Queen Mother of the West, staking your names. But the tens—hundreds of thousands—overwhelmed him. The dark parallel realm blazed like daylight from sheer firepower. On the mortal plane, a continent would have incinerated instantly.]

Gonggong's eyes bulged at her words.

[What... what do you...]

[Fool. From the moment of the promise, you could never unbind the Seven Yao. Can't you tell those wounds are the backlash of causality?]

[......!!]

[No giant can evade that headwind. It's a cosmic pact.]

Bzzzt

Bzzzt

As she spoke, Gonggong staggered from the immense shock. He hastily mustered divine power to heal, but though his form mended, his strength had visibly waned. Grinding his teeth, he bellowed.

[...My miscalculation, but this defies understanding. What power do those characters hold to summon such casual backlash against me? And you, Nüwa—surely weakened by losing the Queen Mother of the West—how did you recover so swiftly?]

Nüwa replied indifferently.

[The Queen Mother of the West had a spare life, a foothold in causality...]

[What?]

[I'd prepared another incarnation long ago for this prophesied moment. That's how I revived easily. Irrelevant to you.]

[......!]

[Now, the time has come.]

Nüwa's finger pointed at Gonggong.

[Kneel and die before your king. Pitful giant.]

Kwagagwang

Countless divine beams erupted from Nüwa, bombarding Gonggong. He blocked desperately, but the tens—hundreds of thousands—overwhelmed him. The dark parallel realm blazed like daylight from sheer firepower. On the mortal plane, a continent would have incinerated instantly.

[Kraaaaah...!!]

Kwagagwang

Gonggong screamed, reaching for the Seven Yao, but they didn't respond. As Nüwa said, causal backlash forbade their release. Fully ensnared in her trap, he was powerless.

Pububung

[Kugh! My king...]

His head exploded in light, regenerating instantly via super-regeneration, but the shock rippled to me.

I knew it.

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